Saturday, July 30, 2011

What is up wrestling fans, I am the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE Smackdown on 7/29/11. With Triple H set to show up, how would the Game be able to change up Friday Nights? Well, let's find out and start the review.

As you would have guessed, we open up the show with Triple H. He talks about being in charge for only a few days and how its a lifestyle change. He quickly wants to bring up the world titles. First, he talks about the WWE Championship. He said that during Raw this past week, he managed to get CM Punk to sign a new contract and thus ran into a bit of a wall because there are two WWE Champions and both guys deserve the world title (at least those are his words). He says he will think about it during the weekend and he will address this on Raw. He is about to talk about the WHC until Christian interrupts. Christian is basically kissing Hunter's ass to get him on his good side, but Trips reminds him he hates being interrupted and he isn't interested in a working relationship with Christian. He also says he can't stand lawyers and meetings and tells Christian he will face off against Randy Orton at SummerSlam in a No Holds Barred Match. Christian instantly flips out until Mr. Woody Woodpecker in R-Truth arrives. Surprisingly, he received a decent amount of cheers from the Philadelphia audience. He is still talking to himself and brings up the conspiracy that is against him and wants to "Axe" him a question. Trips makes fun of Truth saying axe instead of ask while Truth says Trips better get this conspiracy against him dealt with or else there will be action. Hunter says there will be action when Truth goes up against Orton later tonight. Christian is about to offer tips to take down Orton, but Triple H says Christian has a match against John Morrison immediately. I can't really say too much about the WWE Championship since they will further that storyline for Raw, but I do want to add something. Some people thought I was angry about Punk showing up on tv too fast, but it wasn't like that at all. If you recall, I said I was plenty interested in the Punk angle and realize Punk is the hottest wrestler out there and they want to showcase him because there was a high demand for him to come back. Some people thought I was angry, but that was not the case. In fact, I would go further to say I was slightly disappointed since I would have done things differently, but I still want to see where this goes and was still interested. I also mentioned there is the possibility of the WWE having another trick up their sleeve for this angle and more can be on the way. It's amazing how one negative angle gets the IWC in an uproar in saying how the WWE sucks and such even though the storyline isn't even over yet. It's like when the IWC bitched and moaned about Christian losing the title to Orton in two days. I even said that while I felt Christian should have kept the title because he deserved it then, this is a developing storyline and we should see where it goes. Last I checked, Christian got back the WHC and has already had a much longer reign than the first time. IWC can really over react and are ready to throw the book when something isn't even over yet. As far as the WHC, it was apparent another Christian/Orton match would have to happen and I was right about it being some sort of gimmick match. A No Holds Barred Match is an interesting concept, but hopefully they don't make Christian look too weak going up against Orton for the match. Two shows in a row in which Truth and Triple H have exchanged words. It could be leading to something, but only time will tell. There was also a quick backstage scene between Triple H and Teddy Long. They are talking until Zack Ryder arrives to pitch an idea towards the Game. Trips says he is tired of Ryder pitching him ideas and decides to make him Long's assistant. Not sure if this is a long term deal or was just for tonight, but I guess we will find out on next week's Raw or SD. I know the Ryder fanboys want to see Ryder compete in matches, but at least the WWE is meeting you half way and featuring him on tv more. Anyway, this would be an ongoing bit for the rest of the night.

Match #1: Christian vs John Morrison
Morrison's first match on tv since the injury. It looks like Morrison is ready to go since he is doing a lot of the moves you would typically see from Morrison. During the match, Morrison would sell the neck injury since that is the part he had surgery on. This was a fun little competitive match and it ended when Morrison fought hard, but the neck problems were too much and a Killswitch ends this contest. The booking made sense consider Christian is the champ while Morrison is going to have an uphill battle to get himself back in the main event considering guys like Punk and Truth have made their claim to take the top spots.

Winner via pinfall: Christian

Wade Barrett is in the ring to cut a promo. He says he came to the States for one reason.....to make money. He says within the last year, he has lost sight of that and it really hit him when Daniel Bryan won MITB. He says its time to return to the basics because greed is terribly underrated...

Yeah, I can buy that. Anyway, Bryan shows up to a big pop (well, ROH is very faithful to Philly, so it doesn't surprise me) and says Wade is just bitter like Heath Slater. Barrett considers it an insult to compare him to Slater (he actually has a point) and reminds him about how he made all of them during the old Nexus days. Bryan says Wade never made him and he broke away from Nexus to make it on his own. Barrett punches him in the face and in typical heelish fashion, he gloats over his opponent even though he threw one spazz punch. Of course, this gives Danielson lots of time to recover and he sneaks the LeBell Lock on Barrett and he is tapping out like crazy. I was trying to enjoy this segment, but Michael Cole really needs to shut up. I understand he is a heel and has to poke fun of Bryan, but does he have to make a comeback after every sentence Bryan says? This is pro wrestling, not Cole's Riff Special. I found it really distracting because I wanted to know what Bryan was saying a little more clearly. Bryan continues to rise up the rankings while Wade continues to see his stock fall faster and faster. Damn, who did Wade piss off backstage to go from Nexus leader and feuding with Cena to losing to a musclebound moron with the personality of a popsicle stick? Naw....I take that back. Even popsicle sticks show more promise than Ezekiel Jackson. Backstage where Ryder and Long are working on their Odd Couple routine that will be available on DVD this coming Tuesday when Mark Henry interrupts. He wants to know if Long found him an opponent for tonight, but Long says nobody wants to face Henry because he keeps killing people. Ryder says he can find an opponent for Henry and it appears everything will be good. I sense a jobber match in the horizons, but that's just me.

Match #2: Natalya, AJ, and Kaitlyn vs Alicia Fox, Rosa Mendes, and Tamina
Can somebody get Fox out of the ring or teach her to use that finisher properly? She did the Scissors Kick during this match on AJ and she completely botched up the kick and basically sat down on her spine. Seriously, this kick comes out awful by Fox and it almost seems she screws it up all the time and it only seems like a matter of time where she messes it up so bad that she completely kicks a woman in the face and we see a pool of blood in the middle of the ring. WWE....WHAT THE HELL DO YOU SEE IN HER? In fact, they did a slight stare-down between Fox and Kelly Kelly a few weeks back and she might be the favorite for the #1 Contendership. I pray to God this doesn't happen. Yeah, I am not much of a Kelly fan, but I don't wish for her to end up in a Mortal Kombat fatality...

It just seems like Fox just jumps up in the air and instantly looses control of this kick, which is why it goes all over the place. When Booker T did this move, it made it seem fierce, but at least it didn't look like the competitor was going to have neck problems afterwords. If I am working for the WWE, I would seriously file a complaint against Fox and say you would never get in the ring against her unless she changes the finisher. Booker, you might want to have a conservation with Fox to fix this kick before something bad happens. As you would have guessed, Fox wins the match for her time and I hope she doesn't win the Battle Royal on Raw to determine the new #1 Contender for the Divas Title.

Winner via pinfall: Alicia Fox's team with her Death Kick

Match #3: Mark Henry vs Bobby Howard
Yeah, so Ryder picked some local guy to do the jobber honors this week. This guy was really small. In fact, he makes AJ look like Big Zeke. Henry hits WSS on this kid three times and he basically murderers him in the ring. Damn, what the hell WWE? AJ nearly gets paralyzed and now a local jobber dies. What is going on here? Joking aside, Henry wants to add insult to injury after the match. He is about to use a chair on the kid because using his bare hands would be too gruesome for television (Seriously, he could have torn this kid in half with his bare hands). He is about to use the chair until Long arrives. He is trying to clam down Henry because he is out of control and nobody wants to fight him. This calls for the job of..........Super Pale Irishman. Sheamus arrives and says he will fight Henry. He talks about an old Irish story in which a giant became a pile of crap, or something like that. Yeah, I was a little lost in the story deal. He slaps Henry and Henry tries to take him down, but he misses the clothesline. Sheamus grabs the chair and uses it to defend himself as Henry retreats. Amazing how the crowd is already doing a Sheamus chant. In case you missed my SD review last week, I did mention how it seemed WWE had a heel vs heel match where they were testing which one the crowd liked the most. While I felt it was almost a tie, I think Sheamus did get a little more love from the audience. Well, I would guess because of last week, Sheamus is in the very early stages of a face turn and will go up against Henry. Sheamus definitely has the body mass to go up against Henry. Yeah, Henry is a giant, but Sheamus is also pretty jacked up to roll with the big guy. As far as how I feel about a Sheamus face turn, I will say it is interesting. His heel character was just slightly better than average and I think in order to keep Sheamus on the top of their list, they needed to turn him face since Orton eats WWE heels for breakfast. It would be interesting to see if his face turn leads to a world title run later in the year, but we will wait and see.

Winner via pinfall: Mark Henry

Match #4: David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty vs Usos for the WWE Tag Team Titles
Usos continue to do the war dance before starting a match. I really like this little ritual before a match, and it appears the crowd seems to like it as well. It might be pointless to call them Nexus since it seems Punk has moved on to bigger and better things and the group consist of only two guys since Mason Ryan is off with an injury. They even came out to some new entrance music. It was awful to say the least and they should go back to "We Are One". Even though the crowd liked the war dance, they were dead for this entire match. The finish comes when Otunga causes a distraction, which allows for Nexus to regain the upper hand and Michael hits a Swinging Neckbreaker for the win. It doesn't appear this rivalry isn't quite over yet and I hope not because people are finally starting to care about the Usos and they should roll with this for a while.

Winner via pinfall and still Tag Champs: David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty

Backstage where Ryder has another idea and makes a Handicap match between Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase vs Zeke for tonight. Long is getting irritated by Ryder calling the shots, but can't seem to tell him to lay off. Another backstage scene where Truth talks about ripping the skin off a snake because he is facing Orton tonight. Truth scares the crap out of me sometimes. Especially when he says he is a good R-Truth.

Match #5: Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase vs Ezekiel Jackson in a Handicap Match
Audience doesn't really care for Zeke considering he did all of those body slams and he barely got a reaction. If Zeke wanted to get over, he should have worn a Eagle's jersey or something. The finish comes when Zeke misses an attack and Rhodes hits the CrossRhodes. I hope Rhodes is on his way towards having the IC Championship because Zeke's run with the title has already become a flop.

Winner via pinfall: Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase

Match #6: Randy Orton vs R-Truth
The matchup wasn't anything too special. Christian was watching this match at the entrance ramp. The finish comes when Truth unleashes the ultimate weapon in pro wrestling....a water bottle. Unfortunately, we have Super Orton now so it was not very effective. Instead, it made him loose complete control and he uses a chair on Truth and the ref calls for the bell. After the match, Orton isn't done and must administer more punishment. He uses a monitor on Truth and clears out the announcer's table. He RKOs Truth and is about to leave, but starts to spazz out by twisting his head like the Exorist and decides to hit another RKO. The show ends with Orton celebrating with the crowd. It is very strange how Orton acts likes a psycho killer one second, but now he is embracing the crowd and giving them high fives. How can parents let their kids look up to this guy? He can't control his emotions and has voices in his head. Yeah, I get its just a gimmick, but talk about irony. Still, is this like the 50th time we have seen SD end with an RKO this year? I guess that is the system to writing SD. When in doubt, rely on the RKO.

Winner via DQ: R-Truth

Overall Impression:
This was an mixed bag episode of SD. I like the additions of the Raw wrestlers for this week's show, but I am sure its a one time thing....except for Ryder's case since that one is up in the air. The wrestling action was there, but also absent at times. What I found more interesting is the possibility of new storylines or works on the way for SD. We saw an encounter between Bryan and Wade, which would be an interesting feud. I also find myself invested in Sheamus' new positive attitude and him working a program with Henry. If Ryder stays on SD, it could be interesting to see what else he does on SD and if he will continue being Long's assistant. The divas were the divas, but that scissors kick by Fox needs to go before we see an injury occure. Truth continues to be completely out of his mind, but still finds a way to make me laugh. Anyone noticing how Truth is getting more love and cheers for his heel character than his face character? I thought that was strange. With new storylines in the work for SD, it does make my curiosity level to watch the show that much more. Ok, time to rank the shows. In terms of wrestling quality, I rank it Raw, Impact, and SD. Impact and SD delivered around the same in ring quality for this week, but I enjoyed RVD/Gunner a little more. Plus, SD loses points because of Fox's Death Kick. In terms of promos/segments, I will rank it Raw, SD, and Impact. Raw had a pretty good week in this department and SD was pretty fair as well. TNA....let's move on. MVP for this week? Well, I could have given it to Triple H for pulling double duty and making stuff still interesting in WWE land. I was also seriously thinking of giving it to the bird that scared the crap out of Eric Bischoff on this week's Impact because of how silly it looked. I am going to get a lot of disagreement with this one, but I am going to give it to Rey Mysterio. Rey did a hell of a job putting forth two awesome matches and continues to show that even though he is one of the smallest guys out there, he knows how to put over talent and adds a lot into a scene. Plus, he did become WWE Champion this week and I think that deserves to be recognized even if it did make him look bad. Ok, that's going to do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. As always, tell me what you thought of my review and tonight's show. Also, I am on blogger/blogspot in case you want to check it out. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show, see you next time.

Friday, July 29, 2011

What is up wrestling fans, I am the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at TNA Impact Wrestling on 7/28/11. You know, with how bad the last couple of episodes have gone, I should just get the hell out of dodge. Still, I feel I should at least address it because there is a chance we might see something that resembles entertainment....right? Well, let's find out and start the review.

We open the show with Kurt Angle. He immediately calls out Hulk Hogan because he has something he wants to address. Angle says Hogan has been calling Angle's phone all week long trying to get him to join Immortal, but Angle refused because he wants to win the title on his own and its about being the best in the world. I should note that this whole segment was almost dedicated to Hogan and Angle talk about the best in the world. Almost have to wonder if both guys have been paying attention to what CM Punk is doing over in the WWE? Nah, probably just a coincidence. Anyway, Hogan tells Angle he knows what its like to be the best in the world and once again reminds Angle he was winning championships before Angle was wearing diapers (Hogan's diaper speech given for the 572,394th time). Angle at this point is trying to pressure Hogan to get back in the ring and fight his own battle against Sting because Hogan is trying to get other guys to do his dirty work. Hogan tells him he will never wrestle again because of his injuries and surgeries. Angle finally says he doesn't want in Immortal and Hogan should wrestle Sting. Oh boy. All I can say is that it was only a matter of time. I mentioned in a prior review how it seemed like TNA was setting up a Hogan vs Sting match in the near future, and with BFG set to come out in October, it seems they are setting up the possibility of this match. I don't know about this? The kid inside me is saying how its a dream come true, but I know that at my current age that this is almost a disaster waiting to happen. Let's look at the facts. Hogan can barely walk. In fact, he walks so slow to that ring that they ought to create the Hogan Wheelchair so they can roll his ass down the ramp faster. Hogan's back and knees are completely shot and seem like they are going to fall apart and it could be fatal for his livelihood. Then there is Sting, who isn't as good as he used to be and age has caught up with him as well. This could end up being worse than the Captain Kirk fight....

Don't get me wrong. I loved these guys growing up and these guys are part of the reason I am a wrestling fan, but this isn't going to look good and you feel that something could really go wrong during the actual match, and I do mean something REALLY bad that could leave the world in shock. I feel the only way you can do a Sting vs Hogan match in this generation is by making it a tag team match and have the two other guys taking the majority of the bumps. Then again, this is all pure speculation by me at the moment, but it seems they are trying to get extra PPV buys since BFG is their WM and want to get casual fans to check this out. Well, if the match happens, I pray nothing bad happens because it really does seem like a disaster waiting to happen. If the Hogan/Sting match happens, I would almost assume Angle is a shoe in to win the TNA title since the BFG Series is supposed to determine the #1 Contender to the TNA title and Hogan/Sting don't need a title for their match. Then again, TNA can always make something up to completely do away with the BFG Series. I don't think that is the case, but this company also created the Top Ten Rankings last year and we all know how well THAT turned out. There was a backstage scene where Eric Bischoff is on the phone and gets some papers from some random employee. The papers where from "The Network". Oh yeah, you remember? That storyline that got a lot of buildup but really went nowhere. Its back on Impact. I have said this about TNA in the past. In fact, I am sure I said it on last week's review. Just when it seems a certain storyline or angle is done or off tv, it just shows up in an episode to make people say "Oh yeah.....they are still doing that.....ok?". You could argue that "The Network" is still there because the current kayfabe suggest that Hogan and Bischoff are on a thin leash and if they go too far, they lose the company. I know I shouldn't really be talking about this particular spot, but "The Network" would almost be the theme of tonight's show. In other words, if you hated "The Network" angle, your going to hate this show.

Match #1: Gunner vs RVD in a BFG Series Match
First matchup of the night. I was a little worried because the action hasn't really been there for the last couple of shows. This was a pretty good match to watch. I really enjoyed it. See, when TNA just cuts the bulls*** and starts doing things that resemble entertainment, it comes off well on tv. This was a good back and forth match between both guys. Gunner continues to impress me in the ring and really show he is worth all the investment TNA has been giving him. He still needs to work on his mic skills, but he has the look to go far. I still think the name "Gunner" needs to be changed since it sounds like a nickname a five year old gives his friend while playing a game of Cops and Robbers. The finish comes when RVD hits the Frogsplash for the clean win. This is a matchup you might want to check out because it was pretty fun to watch.

Winner via pinfall: RVD

Backstage with Immortal where Bischoff has called an emergency meeting. He tells the members that "The Network" wants to see more X Division stars. Bischoff immediately gets angry at Abyss because it was his job to take care of them but he failed (Actually, didn't Immortal fail in general considering they interfered in the match and Abyss still lost?). The Jarretts are there....without any explanation of them even being there. If you remember the last time the Jarretts where there, they were claiming to go back to Mexico and.....you know, I need to move forward or else this review will never end. It's TNA, so fill the plot holes yourself. Hogan shows up and he wants somebody to take out Angle tonight. Instead of doing the smart thing and having the entire stable fight Angle, he wants one guy to fight him. Immortal, bad ass group but not very bright at times. Bully Ray suggest Mr. Anderson and even goes further to say Anderson isn't a man if he can't deal with Angle. So, Anderson falls for the reverse psychology and he will take on Angle later tonight. Just when you think the scene is over, Sting arrives in a red tux. Well, at least it isn't a purple tux to keep up with the whole Joker deal. He has a cage with him and says "The Network" made him the new Executive of the show and now has more power than Hogan and Bischoff. He says Angle vs Anderson will happen, but it will be in a cage match. He also says 4Tune will be the bodyguards on the outside to make sure Immortal doesn't get involved. Some people say Sting reminds them of the Joker, but I like to think Sting's character is what you get when Heath Ledger and Jim Carrey's Mask had a child. I will not forget what Karen Jarrett said. She said how in the world can "The Network" make Sting an executive? She makes a wonderful point. Sting is nuttier than a pecan pie and your going to put him in charge of a company? Who's idea was that?

We are in the ring where Brian Kendrick and Alex Shelley have something to say. Kendrick says more of his backwards Yoda talk while Shelley is translating. It's amazing how we can understand Mexican America a lot more than Kendrick who actually speaks English. They both call out Austin Aries. He arrives and Shelley talks about how old X Division guys made the division about the spirit of competition and they feel Aries is trying to ruin that because of his heelish tactics. Once again, he is a freakin heel and that is what heels do!!! If an idiot like me can understand that, why can't these other X Division guys figure it out is beyond me. I understand its a storyline, but they could have put a little more imagination as to why Kendrick and Shelley have a grudge towards Aries other than some "moral code" the X Division lives by. Aries says he played by the rules to earn his job in the company and now he is going to play by HIS rules and he here for fame, championships, and money. Kendrick reminds him he is the champ and he won't take this lying down and that is why "The Network" made a Three Way Dance for the X Title at the Hardcore PPV. Abyss interrupts and says he demands to get his rematch for the title tonight. It seems it's a go until Sting shows up on the titantron and says the title match will be an Ultimate X Match. Anyone get the feeling TNA is overkilling the Ultimate X Match? We just saw one almost a month ago and I think this is the third or fourth one to be seen this year. It's funny how Kendrick and Shelley say Aries is killing the X Division, but I find myself way more interested in the X Division whenever he shows up. Aries is awesome and continues to be impressive. I am serious people. This guy can actually cut a promo and is really convincing as a heel. Oh, and during the commercial, they showcased the Immortal DVD again. This is almost the biggest example of wrestling logic because they have Dixie Carter on the DVD talking about the angle. Based on the kayfabe of the storyline, Dixie isn't even supposed to be affiliated with the company and thus shouldn't be appearing on the DVD unless Hogan is paying her to do so. There was also a quick backstage scene where Matt Morgan talks about having a torn pectoral muscle and has to bow out of the BFG Series. He is completely crushed about this news and claims he NEEDS the world title. Based on what I know, this is a legit injury. I feel really bad for Morgan. He had a good shot of winning the BFG Series and now has to take some time away to get healthy. All I can say is I wish Morgan the best of luck in the recovery and hopefully he gets his shot when he returns because he really looked devastated about the news and I think he has earned a shot. More BFG Series matches done during house shows. Samoa Joe still has zero points while Robert Roode and James Storm are climbing the rankings. I will talk more about the rankings after the last BFG match for tonight. In a backstage scene, Bully is playing Angry Birds while the cameraman talks to him about facing off against Crimson tonight. Bully says who the hell is Crimson and that he is a nobody. He ends the scene by saying okie dokie, which reminds me of Balls of Fury when Christopher Walken says okie dokie artichokie. Bully is a hypocrite if you think about it. During his feud with AJ Styles, he talked about how real pro wrestlers don't play video games, but here he is playing a video game. To add to the madness, Bully promotes a house show match against Styles for the upcoming weekend. What? What is the point of hyping up a match on tv that we aren't going to see? Screw it, let's just move on.

Match #2: Bully Ray vs Crimson in a BFG Series Match
It's about time they get back to the action since it has been a good half hour since the last match. Bully is literally beating the crap out of Crimson for the majority of the match. Out of nowhere, Crimson sneaks the Sky High Powerbomb and wins the match. I didn't like the way this match was designed. If you want Crimson to get over, you need him to hold his own against other competition as opposed to pulling a John Cena and winning in the last minute. I understand they don't want to make Bully look weak, but by trying to make Bully look legit they made Crimson look weak. I thought this was the guy with the bad ass undefeated streak? Don't you want that guy to look intimidating and a force to be reckon with as opposed to a guy who got lucky? Really have to question the creative staff with how this one was booked. Yeah, Crimson wins the match but he should have been made to look a little stronger than this. If you didn't want to make Bully look bad, then don't book the match and give Bully or Crimson another opponent. Anyway, Crimson's win still leaves him atop the BFG Series. He currently has 38 points and is ten points ahead of Gunner and RVD who have 28 points apiece and are sitting at second place. I almost have to wonder if they are going to have Crimson win this tournament? While it would be an interesting move, I don't think Crimson is nowhere near ready for a world title match and they should take their time with this talent or else he could end up running into the same problem as Jack Swagger. The same goes for Gunner as well, which might leave guys like Bully or RVD to win this tournament. Well....I guess we will wait and see who gets the match because its still very much in the air.

Winner via pinfall: Crimson

Backstage where Bischoff is trying to talk to "The Network", but isn't having much luck. Maybe they could build a phone that automatically connects to "The Network" like what they did in those 60s Batman tv shows. Another backstage scene of Madison Rayne going to the ring to "watch" Tara's match until Sting arrives and scares her away with the cage. At this point, I was starting to think a bat was inside the cage. I am going to say we would find out what was in the cage, and let me just say it was beyond stupid and uncreative by TNA.

Match #3: Tara vs Winter
There is almost no reason for this match to be happening since these two have no real beef with each other and have their own rivals. The ref sent Angelina Love and Miss Tessmacher to the back to make this a fair match. For a KOs match, this one was at least passable. The only real gripe I had with this match was the ending. The ref got a slight distraction, which allowed for Winter to kick Tara in the baby maker and hits a slam to win the match. Why was there a low blow done in a women's match? I have seen TNA do this a couple of times and it almost makes no sense. Now, I am a male and I know it hurts when you kick a guy in the family jewels. Not sure how a kick to a groin would really hurt a woman and its almost embarrassing that the writing staff has these women sell this particular blow. To be fair, the WWE has done this before but I see this occur a lot more on TNA. I understand Winter is a heel and needs to cheat to win, but they should have designed something a little better than a kick in the groin considering these are women and thus should try a different approach. If I were the booker, I would have had Winter use brass knucks to KO Tara and then hid them to steal the win. She cheated just like before, but at leasts it makes a little more sense.

Winner via pinfall: Winter

Match #4: Brian Kendrick vs Abyss in a Ultimate X Match for the X Division Title
The match wasn't really good, but it also wasn't designed to be good. Abyss is trying to think of another way to grab the belt. He tried jumping for the belt, but he isn't tall enough. He tried to take down the steel structure so he can grab the belt, but it failed. Kendrick was basically a rag doll in this match. Every once in a while he would get some offense against Abyss, but he was on his back for the majority of the match. The finish comes when Abyss is about to Chokeslam Kendrick, but he recovers and quickly uses the boost by Abyss to grab the belt and win the match. I will admit that was a pretty creative way to end the match. Kendrick keeps his title....hooray. Kendrick hasn't look good at all during this title run. He needed help and shenanigans to beat Abyss the first time, picks up the bones with Aries' interference last week and just managed to sneak the victory this time around. I thought champions were supposed to look strong or at least be competitors as opposed to relying on a rabbit's foot? Say what you will about Santino's second IC Championship run, he at least had the ego to make that somewhat amusing. I don't see Kendrick being champion for much longer since Aries seems to be the guy to take the title.

Winner and still X Champ: Brian Kendrick

We go from a paper champion to a comic relief champion. Eric Young continues to be on the road looking for celebrities to fight. He runs into David Hasselhoff's "agent" (I have no idea if it really was the guy or just for the sake of kayfabe. If I really cared, I would actually do some research about this). Young is talking in circles while the agent has no idea what Young wants. Young immediately gets in his ring gear to fight but the agent said something about taking acting lessons. Young says he will do so and he will be back in two days. I guess that would be the Keanu Reeves School of Acting to get it all knocked out in two days?

As I said last week, I have no idea where this is all going and I don't find it entertaining. It's just strange. There is a chance it can turn out good, but with how its turning out, it just seems like it will be a train wreck. Anyway, we are back in the ring where Traci Brooks and Velvet Sky have something to say. They quickly call out ODB and Jacki. They show up.....through the entrance ramp as opposed through the audience since they are the invaders, right? Funny how "The Network" doesn't seem to care they are taking up tv time and continue to harass and assault their employees and don't do anything about it. Traci tells the ladies that management told her to step aside and let the new crop of ladies lead the charge for the KO division and ODB and Jacki should do the same. ODB says otherwise and claims it all started with Sky since she turned this division into a Hooter's club. Sky once again talks about how she used to be bullied as a child and has earned her spot in the company. She says if ODB and Jacki want back in the company, they should ask management for a chance. Yeah, I actually have to agree with Sky. I mean, who would think to use something like logic in this situation? Once again, I find it really hard to buy Sky's sob story considering she looks like she was the most popular girl in high school as opposed to the one that is being picked on. In fact, she looks like the one who was the bully in high school. To make your mind even more trippy, wasn't she a bully when she debuted for this company with the paper bag treatment? There is a chance this is real or just kayfabe, but I also don't care about this angle to even invest in Sky's real life. Plus, how can Traci be ok with management saying to step aside because they don't think she is attractive enough or good enough for the current TNA? I also find that hard to believe considering Traci looks damn good and I am sure she can still go. The writers were all over the place with this storyline. Oh, there was also a backstage scene with 4Tune until Sting shows up and talks to them about the match for tonight. The only interesting thing here is Christopher Daniels was trying to talk to Styles about something, but it wasn't really developed. This seems like a storyline in the very early stages since it can be just about anything at this point. Sadly, this might be one of the more interesting angles that is going around in TNA.

Match #5: Kurt Angle vs Mr. Anderson in a Steel Cage Match
I can't believe this company. Just as this matchup is getting started, they quickly go to a backstage segment that ate up like 2-3 minutes. Usually when pro wrestling does this, they do the split screen. But no, all you can see is the backstage scene while the match is going on. Why wasn't this done before the match started as opposed to during the match? I know I poke fun of this every week, but this is the show that claims Wrestling Matters, right? Anyway, Bischoff finally gets a hold of "The Network" and demands to know what they are thinking by making Sting an executive. Just as Bischoff realizes "The Network" hasn't spoken to Sting in weeks, the Joker arrives with the cage. He informs Bischoff that he is NOT the executive because he is bats*** insane. He reveals the cage and it turns out its a bird. He leaves the bird with Bischoff while Bischoff acts like he is in a pool full of spiders. That's right......a bird. Not a flock of birds like in Hitchcock, just A bird. Are you freakin kidding me? The bird did look like a crow, but even one crow isn't going to make you squeal like a little girl. Come on TNA, be more creative. Why not a bucket full of scorpions or a python? Heck, if your going to get a bird, why not a vulture? A puppy would have been more fierce than the bird. I understand the metaphor they were going for, but you needed more than once bird. Reaching for the stars there, aren't you TNA? Oh, and Bischoff might as well fork over his man card if he can't handle something a Pikachu can take care of. It's pretty sad when this bird is actually the best actor for this week's show. Seriously, this bird moved on cue towards Bischoff. Give that bird a freakin paycheck. Anyway, it was really hard to get interested in the match after seeing a bird be the sign of the devil on this show. Immortal runs out there and it turns into a free for all between 4Tune and Immortal. Mexican Amercia showed up because TNA hasn't overbooked this show already. The finish comes when Anderson orders Bully to give him a chair. Bully gets angry and both play tug of war with the chair until Angle recovers to hit the Angle Slam for the win. So, Anderson joined Immortal to protect himself but hasn't won a match since joining the group? The lights go off after the match and Sting arrives to raise Angle's hand in victory and tells him only ten more days. I would talk more about this, but we need to wrap up this review and.....a freakin bird?

Winner via pinfall: Kurt Angle

Overall Impression:
Jesus Christ TNA, could you have overbooked a show any further than you did tonight? To be fair, this was a lot better than what I seen out of the last two weeks out of TNA since there were some moments where the show was running pretty well. In fact, the first hour of the show was running pretty smoothly, but the second hour was as if TNA went into overdrive to showcase every storyline imaginable. I really find it hard to watch TNA when they overbook the show because it goes too fast that you have a hard time keeping up with what's going on. I have said in the past that TNA tends to have too many storylines and too much stuff going on at one time, and this was an example of it. It almost feels like TNA wants to have the same number of storylines that the WWE has, but there is a major differences. WWE has two more hours in the week to showcase those storylines while TNA simply doesn't. Have you ever noticed that my TNA reviews are a lot longer than my WWE ones? The reason for that is because TNA has so much stuff going around that I have to address it, and a lot of the time the segment shouldn't even appear on tv. They could have easily cut out the Winter/Tara match. The match served no purpose for the show or the current KO storylines, so they could have cut that out and given more time to address the other storylines as opposed to putting the show in Turbo Mode and rush through it. I will give TNA some credit since they actually did build up the Hardcore PPV, but it went so fast and quickly that you almost loose track of things that happened. In fact, I think during the 4Tune segment, the group was talking about a match coming up at Hardcore against Immortal. Gee, would have been nice to say that in the ring as opposed to the shaky cameraman. Again, what is it with TNA and this shaky camera shooting? Do they think they are being "more real" by filming the show like this? Really, it comes off as half assed since they don't want to have an actual scene with an interview and the wrestlers, not the cameraman doing everything. This is a wrestling show, but it often feels like the show is being filmed as if we are watching a nature show. Its wrestling, not the freakin crocodile hunter or the Blair Witch Project. Not to mention I didn't even get to talk about the rivalry brewing between Bully and Anderson as of late. He just joined Immortal and he already has tension with the group? You see what I mean? TNA, you need to plan how your going to showcase you rivalries and PPV matches and actually invest the time into it as opposed to rushing through it. A lot of these storylines could have been taken care of or addressed two weeks ago. Instead, TNA almost wasted the first two weeks of PPV build around two matches and just relized they need to hurry up and quickly add matches and storylines in a fast paced manor. In WWE, they at least go a little slower for the most part to keep you relaxed and invested because WWE doesn't want your brain to explode with too much stuff going on at one time. This is another example of poor time management, which really falls on the creative staff for not sticking with a plan as opposed to changing it like a bunch of times. There are Impacts where it feels they are trying to drag out the time while times it feels there is too much going on. There is no balance since the writers can't seem to stick to writing enough stuff for a two hour show, which is why you get this inconsistent balance with TNA. Yes, I am aware of the dirt sheet reports of the WWE changing the script several times for this week's Raw, but that ran a lot more smoothly than Impact at the end of the day. I cannot really recommend watching this week's show even thought there were things about the show that were tolerable like the RVD match or Aries being Aries. Still, a bird? I still can't get over that. I walk away somewhat confused because I did enjoy a couple of things on tonight's show, but with the show moving too fast, it was really hard to get into the show. I want TNA to do better, but they need to plan things better and utilize their time better if they want to get this show out there. There are other things TNA needs to work on, but this review is already too damn long that I need to end it. That's going to do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. As always, tell me what you thought of my review or tonight's show. SD will either be a Running Diary or a full review for this week. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show, see you next time and.....a bird? Either way, that bird was the freakin man on Impact.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

What is up wrestling fans, I am the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE Raw on 7/25/11. With this being the first Raw of the "Triple H regime", how would things fair out? Well, let's find out and start the review.

Match #1: Rey Mysterio vs Miz; winner is the "NEW" WWE Champion
So, the WWE is opening up the show with a world title match? You knew they had to have something up their sleeve if the title match opens up the show. Anyway, this was actually a pretty cool way to open up the show, even though I was expecting Triple H to cut a promo to start the show but this was ok. Rey and Miz delivered a pretty damn good match. I would even go further to say this was the match of the night. It really felt like a world title match and I like how both guys went the extra mile. I don't think we have seen a rivalry between Miz and Mysterio, but it can work if done well. I like the springboard Powerbomb the Miz delivered to Rey, but only a two count. The finish comes when Rey hits the 619 and the Top Rope Splash and we have a "new" WWE Champion. I should note there was plenty of stuff that would happen if they opened up the show with this match. After the match, Miz lands a cheap shot and leaves. Alberto Del Rio runs with the MITB and is about to cash it in, but Rey hits a crossbody and Del Rio runs away with the briefcase. So, it appears Del Rio is pulling a Miz with the MITB by teasing the possibility of cashing in the briefcase but ends up running away. I don't know about this because Miz did it last year and I got sick of seeing it after a while and it just feels like Del Rio could be doing the same thing. Hopefully, it's just a strange number of coincidences.

Winner via pinfall and NEW WWE Champion: Rey Mysterio

Backstage where the Raw locker room is celebrating as if they just won the Super Bowl with the new champion in Rey. John Cena would arrive and congratulate Rey and then leaves. Rey gave a quick interview on how he made a bunch of sacrifices to get to the top and it was worth it. What a feel good story. Of course, the feel good stories in pro wrestling ALWAYS go well....don't they? Nah, maybe I am over analyzing it?

Match #2: Dolph Ziggler vs Evan Bourne
Ziggler came out to a new entrance theme. It was his old theme, but a remixed version of it. I personally think it sounds better than before. Anyway, this was your basic Bourne match. He tries and almost has the win, but can't overcome the odds and the match ends with Ziggler applies the Sleeper Hold for the win. It seems the only way Bourne is going to win matches is if he shoots them with a Mega Buster. On the other hand, it seems they could be trying something with Ziggler. After the match, he claimed to be the best in the company and vows to never lose the US Title. It's nice to see a midcard champion actually acknowledge and be proud of the fact they have the title. Its been something I have been noticing about pro wrestling in this day in age. It often feels like the guys who win the IC or US titles almost don't even care they have the belt. I remember back in the day when the Macho Man was the IC Champion and he looked at the title as if he WAS the best and seemed to care about holding it. Heck, Wade Barrett held the IC belt but hardly didn't talk about it and didn't really show as if he cared up to the point where he dropped the title to Ezekiel Jackson. I guess what I am trying to say is if your going to have all of these belts, try to make it mean something not only to the person who has the title, but for the people who compete for it. It just makes having the belts and title matches that much more meaningful. Still, better than some guy who thinks a world title actually gives him power even though he had the title for 2-3 months and that power did absolutely nothing. Yes, I am referring to TNA.

Winner via submission: Dolph Ziggler

A backstage comedy segment with the Bellas, Eve, and Keith Stone. Eve is arguing about the Bellas doing the switch out during matches and Stone says he dislikes people who use identity theft. He starts to mark one of the Bellas with a marker only for the cameraman to take his eye off of them for a few seconds and reveals some artwork that would put tattoo artist to shame. Bellas leave in disgust and shock while Eve says how smooth Keith is. This might have been more corny than the actual commercials. Even though I didn't like the segment, it somehow made the WWE Divas interesting since Kharma left. Still, 1000s better than watching a retarded leprechaun attempt comedy.

Match #3: Kelly Kelly and Eve vs Melina and Maryse
Your basic diva match. This match wasn't designed well and it seemed like the choreography was off at times. Kelly hits Infamassour on Melina for the win. Does anyone even care about Kelly holding the title? Oh, and Cee Lo Green is performing at SummerSlam. Who the hell is Cee Lo Green? I am actually not joking right now since I have never heard of this person until now. Once again, I don't listen to rap and have no intention of starting now.

Winner via pinfall: Kelly Kelly and Eve

Back in the ring where Triple H is finally going to address the audience. He starts off by saying Vince McMahon was a genius and the WWE wouldn't be where it is without him. He congratulates Rey for becoming the new champion, but this is Triple H's show and he says Rey will defend his championship against Cena later tonight. He says one of the first things he wanted to address was an individual who has been getting some serious support from the WWE Universe to bring back on television. After lots of buildup and "CM Punk" chants going on throughout the arena, we hear the Oklahoma Sooners fight song. That can only mean one person in Jim Ross, who is making his way down the ramp. The crowd still reacts pretty well since they teased Punk's arrival. Michael Cole has this look as if he is going to murder someone as JR is walking down the ramp. Cole quickly gets on the mic and says he has done everything the WWE has told him to do, but the one thing he won't do his work with JR. He starts tossing insults at JR about his weight, BBQ sauce, and ass kissing. Trips says he expected Cole to react like this and thought about firing him, but because of "Cole's contract, it would cost him more to fire him than stay so he gives him a choice. He tells him to either do his job or Cole can quite, but that would be a breech of contract and Cole would lose money and benefits. He gives Cole the rest of the night off to think about his career and he has until Friday night over on Smackdown to make the decision. Cole quickly says he will do his job, but Trips said he still has the rest of tonight off because he has a match coming up. Cole is confused by this and makes excuses that he doesn't have his ring gear, but Trips says he has some gear for him in the back and to get ready right now because he is up next. As Cole is walking away, R-Truth arrives. Truth says Triple H has always been apart of the conspiracy, but he actually likes what he sees out of the new boss. He wonders what Trips can do for him since Little Jimmy costed his world title match back at CP. During this time, Truth is talking to imaginary people while Trips decides to join in on the fun and starts talking to imaginary people as well. Truth realizes what is going on and tells him he isn't playing his game and leaves. Just as he's leaving, the Game tells Truth he signed another wrestler back. John Morrison returns and immediately attacks Truth. He ends the segment by hitting SSP on Truth. Pretty interesting segment to say the least. JR returning was a surprise. Not sure if its a long term move or just temporary, but JR on commentary is always a treat. I had a feeling Morrison was set to return really soon since they kept showing hints on last week's show of the video package and how Truth caused the injuries for the sake of the storyline. You had to sense a Truth/Morrison storyline was on the way because that had to be the original plan until Morrison got hurt. It should be interesting to see what happens when that comes full circle once again. It was also announced that Triple H would be on SD this week and address things over on that show.

Match #4: Michael Cole vs Zack Ryder
Cole came out to Triple H's King of Kings entrance. He was also wearing the tights and failed at doing the water spit. You have to admit that Cole is a bit of a character at times since he gives the best facial expressions during a scene. This is why I say Cole needs to have more of an active role like a manager because he can't really do that while on commentary. Anyway, this was a jobber match and it ended with the Rough Ryder. Ryder got a match on Raw this week and actually won. Is this a sign of things to come for Ryder? I know the IWC has their panties in a bunch when you talk about Ryder. While I am not a fan of his gimmick (I think anything that reminds me of Jersey Shore makes me cringe), Ryder does have a lot of the tools to go pretty far in the business and you have to give him credit for at least trying to make this gimmick work and get more air time.

Winner via pinfall: Zack Ryder

Match #5: Alberto Del Rio vs Kofi Kingston
This was an ok match, but almost a carbon copy of last week's match. Well...... outside of the finish that is. The finish came when Del Rio locked in the CAB and wins via submission. I remember how the commentators referred to Punk as "he who should not be named". That's right folks, Punk has become the Lord Voldemort in the WWE because we aren't supposed to talk about him anymore even though we know he is out there......somewhere

Winner via submission: Alberto Del Rio

A backstage interview with the Miz. He says Rey or Cena having the belt is embarrassing. He says Cena doesn't deserve a title shot because he was the one who caused this series of events, while Rey is not "must see" material because he hides behind a mask. He also says he dislikes Triple H's new direction and says this is a mistake for the company. Hmm....this is still in the early stages, but I think what will happen is Miz fighting against the boss in the Game because he doesn't like how the company is moving. It's kinda like how the wrestlers fight the bosses in pro wrestling, expect its backwards since the boss is usually the bad guy while the wrestler is a face, but that obviously isn't the case with the Miz. This is just a quick reminder by the WWE to say the Miz is still here and we have plans on the way for him.....I think.

Match #6: Rey Mysterio vs John Cena for the WWE Championship
Again, another good world title match. I didn't think it was quite as good as the first one tonight, but this was still a good match to watch. It went back and forth for quite a while. I liked the spot where Rey reversed the STF and locked in a STF of his own. The finish comes when Rey is trying his hardest to beat Cena, but he can't and Cena eventually hits AA and we have a new WWE Champion....again....or do we have two champions? As Cena is celebrating with the new title, he picks up Rey and Rey eventualy leaves to let Cena celebrate. That is when Cult of Personality hits and Cena is wondering what is going on. CM Punk comes out of the entrance ramp with the real WWE Championship. He soaks it all in from the audience for a while until getting in the ring. Both guys have a staredown and Cena hoist up his title to receive cheers. Punk puts his title up to actually get a bigger reaction for the audience. Cena just nods and leaves the ring. The show ends with Punk enjoying the moment.

Winner via pinfall and NEW WWE Champion: John Cena

Ok, now time for me to talk about this segment. First of all, I kinda feel bad for Rey. He wins the title only to lose it less than two hours later. Then again, he did his job and I think him dropping the title right away made sense since he was the odd one in this segment. Three is a crowd and Rey had to step aside. Still, I think he played his role pretty well. Remember what I said about feel good stories in pro wrestling? Yeah, a lot of the times they don't tend to last very long. Second, while I agree that Rey as champion isn't the best long term goal since Cena is still there, I think they should have waited and not do it all in one night. And third, I had a feeling it was Punk when the music played because I remember Punk using this theme back when he was in Ring of Honor. While I do admit Punk appearing tonight was a slight surprise, part of me is a bit disappointed. I think what I am referring to was I felt the WWE rushed Punk back onto television too quickly. If I were the booker or creative in charge, I would keep Punk off tv for around a month or two and have him show up at SummerSlam. In fact, I would have Rey go into SS as the champion and Cena is chasing the title. You can either have Cena win it there or have Punk jump out and take out both guys and close out SS with him holding the real WWE Championship. Punk is one of my favorite wrestlers in this generation and I do feel like a show is missing something when he isn't around, but I felt they rushed this a bit and should have kept Punk off tv for a while longer. I think it was pretty clear they are quickly billing up Punk vs Cena to happen at SS, but I would have held off on it since it would have made Punk's appearance than much more. Yeah, he got a massive pop, but the moment could have been much grander if they had waited a few more weeks or until SS. Now, while I am on the side that says WWE should have waited to bring back Punk, I can understand why the WWE did it. Punk is THE hottest wrestler/superstar out there and he has been getting more pops than Cena, which isn't easy to pull off and people just want to see him. I think the WWE realized they couldn't keep Punk off of tv for too long and that is why they rushed him back. Now, it's possible that there is more on the way with this and this storyline can still take an interesting turn. Punk came out to his ROH theme and thus maybe he is showing up as a "non WWE" employee and is just trying to cause a stir. Why? Because he is Punk and he does whatever the hell he wants, so I can buy that. Maybe Punk reveals this was all a trick from the beginning to get Vince fired or something? I can understand how people can say the WWE dropped the ball tonight, but let's not forget this angle/storyline isn't over yet and there is still more to happen. We know Punk and Cena are going to have to meet again, and maybe they will unify both WWE Championships. There is still a lot they can do with this angle from now until then, and then some. I am still interested in this storyline, but I do felt it was rushed just a tad. Still, if something better comes out of it, I am all for it. Again, we are still in the middle of this storyline and we are just going to have to sit back and see what the WWE is plotting here. Lately, things have been unpredictable, so you never know what is gonna happen next.

Overall Impression:
I thought this was a pretty good episode of Raw. We had the first night of the "Triple H regime" and it seems that more stuff can be on the way. There was some ok comedy, good wrestling matches, and some ok storytelling with a couple of returns mixed in there. I thought this was a pretty fun show to check out since it had a lot of everything. I can see others saying otherwise with how the Punk storyline was played out, but there was still some good wrestling matches to be seen and some ok promos, so I think that makes the overall feeling of the show worthwhile and fun to check out. There is definitely an interesting turn of events that can happen after tonight. Is Punk going to go up against Cena and is he really back or is he a "non WWE" employee? What will Triple H do over on SD and what else does he have planned for Raw? What will Miz do to fight against Triple H's vision of the WWE? What will Rey do after dropping the title and when will Del Rio cash in the briefcase? See, there is still plenty of questions to be asked and enough interest to keep watching. Again, I know people are quickly off board of the main angle of the show, but I think there is still enough interest and still a chance something big can come out of it. That is going to do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. As always, tell me what you thought of my review and tonight's show. You can also find me on blogger/blogspot. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show, see you next time.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

What is up wrestling fans, I am the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE Smackdown on 7/22/11. I thought after MITB that this week's show had enough going in to make it interesting. So, how was the show and was it better than Impact Wrestling? Well, let's kill the suspense and say it was automatically better than TNA, but let's find out how the show did and start the review.

We open up the show with Randy Orton sitting down on a chair in the middle of the ring. He says the WWE is upside down because the WWE Championship is no more and how Triple H is now in charge, but he doesn't care because he only cares about dealing with Christian. Captain Charisma comes out and gloats about the fact he is the champ. He says it's Orton's fault because he can't control his anger and knew the rules prior to the match. He also says he didn't mean to spit in Orton's face and claims justice was served at MITB. Orton dives into his insult bag and realizes the only thing left for him to say is to get in the ring and fight. Man, Orton couldn't be more cliche if he tried. Anyway, Orton tries to attack Christian, but referees separate both guys and Teddy Long shows up. Orton says he wants his rematch tonight, but Long says Orton already signed up for a Street Fight with Kane tonight, but does insure him he will get his rematch at a later date. Orton is walking away, but still manages to sneak a sucker punch on Christian and officials separate them. Christian gets angry about the attack and the fact Long isn't doing anything to punish Orton. Long greets Christian with a match against Ezekiel Jackson, which is up next. Overall, a pretty traditional opening. It establishes everything to anyone who doesn't use the internet or didn't watch MITB. Well, I guess we should at least give WWE some credit since Christian's world title reign has already gone twice as long as the first time. It's amazing how generic Orton is on the mic, but the fans cheer as if the President is giving the promo. Once again, I am convinced Orton can say anything on the mic and fans will go apes***.

Match #1: Christian vs Ezekiel Jackson
This match is about what you expected when your dealing with the man of a million power slams. Zeke was trying to put away Christian, but Christian would fight back and eventually outsmart Zeke and sneaks a Killswitch for the win. A pretty skippable match and the booking made sense. Does anyone else think Zeke is actually getting over with the crowd? I just don't sense people really getting pumped when he arrives and he typically gets the basic face pop. I guess all of that personality got buried underneath all that muscle.

Winner via pinfall: Christian

We are in the ring where Michael Cole is about to interview Daniel Bryan. Cole talks about how Bryan's MITB win was a fluke and how he is a nerd while Bryan says he doesn't care about Cole's opinion. Cole would say Bryan will be a terrible world champion because he will use the MITB like everyone else and cash it in on a weaken champion while Bryan counters by saying Cole didn't deserve a WM match (he actually has a point here, plus it was Danielson's match that got bumped at WM so he has even more of a reason to be bitter). Danielson says he EARNED the briefcase and says he will cash in the MITB at WM 28. He then goes into a speech in how he has had injury upon injury in his career but kept going because being a world champion in the WWE was his dream. Cole is giving this look as if he is going to be sick. Heath Slater interrupts and says Bryan will be the first guy to fail at become world champion with the MITB and says he is a loser. There match is about to get underway, but let's discuss this scene first. I wouldn't make too much out of Danielson's purposal of cashing in the MITB at next year's WM. I mean, it could happen, but I guess I will believe it when we are closer to the date. Danielson was getting more pop this week than he has in a while. I would like to see the WWE really utilize Danielson and really push him to the top and prove they know what they are doing in having him hold the MITB briefcase. I know Danielson is talented enough for a world title, but his win was a surprise and I just don't want to see his MITB cash in too soon or else it could turn into another Jack Swagger. I am sure the WWE will do their homework and make sure that by the time Danielson is about to cash in MITB, he will be over, people will really be behind him, and he is ready for the belt since I don't think he is ready for it yet. I would really like to see Danielson cut more promos and change his entrace music. He really can cut a promo when you give him a little more free range, so hopefully this will happen more often. Either way, it will be interesting to see what they do with Danielson moving forward. Oh, and I am aware Danielson made an error by saying he was the first MITB winner to announce the date he would cash in the briefcase. RVD was actually the first, but I understand what they are trying to do here.

Match #2: Daniel Bryan vs Heath Slater
News flash, Bryan is now #1 in Booker T's Fave Five. Alert the media. Tell the world. Everyone must know......NOW!!! Anyway, this was a pretty good match. The finish comes when Bryan locks in the Guillotine Chokehold for the submission win. They really should let Bryan use other submission holds to win matches to really push how he is a technical wrestler.

Winner via submission: Daniel Bryan

Backstage interview with Mark Henry. He claims the destruction will never end and claims he is all powerful....by the power of Greyskull. I know this sounds odd, but seeing Henry in a world title match might be on the way and I actually might care about it. Then again, with the RKO of Doom walking around, not sure how that will go on Henry's end. WWE also aired a detailed video on Vince McMahon being "fired" and Triple H now taking over. If you want my thoughts on that, please check out my Raw review from this past week. I didn't want to spend too much time on this angle since it is mainly on Raw, but I figured I can at least address something that happened during the week. At a WWE panel in Comic Con, Triple H would get interrupted by a "unsuspected" guest...

The worked shoot that is so good that it is now being advertised outside WWE television and being shown around the world. Again, this pretty much shows that Punk has in fact signed a new deal and is just taking a break for the sake of the storyline and because he needs a rest. I like the little confrontation between Punk and the Game. Possible match between the two on the way? I personally would like to see it, but its still a longshot. I almost wonder if they will go further with this? Will more confrontations happen like this like at a football game or something? I think it makes it kinda fun. Again, even though wrestling is scripted, this is still entertaining and really fun to watch. Plus, it doesn't seem too phony because Punk is a good enough of an actor to where he is making it look natural and it almost gives a sense of realism to the storyline, but in a good and entertaining way. Again, this is why WWE worked shoots are more convincing and fun than the one on TNA. The audience was clearly having fun with the whole thing, so that helps as well. Anyway, those are my quick thoughts on the Punk/Comic Con deal since I think some of you were wondering what I thought about that.

Match #3: Wade Barrett vs Sheamus
It was reported that Sin Cara has an injured back and will be out for at least 4 weeks. That is at least what WWE is saying in regards to kayfabe. In reality, Sin got hit with a 30 day suspension for failing a performance enhancer test. Something about this just seems odd for some reason and have to wonder how things will go for Sin when he comes back. Oh, and I am aware of the dirt sheets reporting that WWE doesn't want to bring back Sin. I don't believe that, but I can see the IWC buying it because it was reported over the internet. And as you all know, anything reported over the internet is automatically right, duh? Anyway, Cole is making fun of people who get their GEDs. I understand he is a character and his character is a verbal bully, but that was a little much considering I actually know people going for their GEDs and such and its insulting taking cheap shots at people like that. Barrett is now out of Booker's Fave Five in case you were keeping track at home. It was kinda odd to see WWE have two heel vs heel matches in two straight tapings. The finish comes when both guys are fighting at ringside and they both get counted out. Not really sure what they are doing with this possible rivalry. It could be WWE seeing which one the crowd likes more and then turn them face, but who knows. After the double countout, Sheamus hits the Brogue Kick to stand tall. The crowd enjoyed this match a lot more than I hoped for since they are both bad guys. Hopefully that means people care about both guys to a degree.

Double Countout

A backstage Kane interview in which he is using the eerie music and saying how he hates feeling like a human and wants to be a monster again. Go watch TNA Impact, cuz I pretty sure that show will make you enraged to become a monster.

Match #4: Randy Orton vs Kane in a Street Fight
This was the main event for the evening. This match was also pretty long as it went around 20-30 minutes. See, when WWE has to fill out the time, they show longer wrestling matches. When TNA needs to fill out the time, they air stupid stuff that makes no sense. As you would have guessed, these two fought around the arena floor, near the announcers booth and brought in chairs, steel steps, and a kendo stick. I wasn't too sure how well this match would turn out, but I was actually quite surprised. This wasn't too bad of a match. The finish comes when Randy RKOs Kane onto a steel chair and wins the match. I know people get a little ticked off with Orton winning all the time, but he had to win to keep his stock up while Kane loosing actually makes sense because of his current storyline of becoming more human and disliking it. After the match, Kane and Orton would shake hands while Orton leaves. Very strange on Kane's part, but I guess it keeps up with his "becoming more human than a monster" storyline. Henry would show up and destroy Kane. He hits WSS and would put a chair on Kane's leg and would do the second rope body slam. The show ends with Henry standing tall while Kane is screaming in pain. So, they continue to buildup Henry's reign of terror as he continues to take out everyone. It might really be something if this current Henry push actually leads to him getting the world title. This is probably the first time in a long time that I am actually interested in what Henry does, and THAT is really saying something.

Winner via pinfall: Randy Orton

Overall Impression:
I thought this was a pretty fun episode of SD. They did pad out the time a bit with the main event eating up almost 1/4 of the show. Characters like Cody Rhodes, Johnny Curtis, and Jinder Mahal didn't appear this week, so it will be interesting to see what they will be doing come next week. Still, they addressed the major storyline's for SD, which was the Christian/Orton deal, Danielson winning MITB, and Henry. This wasn't a mind blowing show and there was flaws, but this really comes off as good wrestling show when you compare it to the show that claims Wrestling Matters. I felt SD was good enough to keep you coming back to see what happens on next week's show. I am also surprised that Christian didn't address himself as the "only" world champion in WWE considering that Punk is "out" of the company, but no matter. Ok, time to rank the shows. In terms of wrestling quality, I will rank it to SD, Raw, and Impact. Raw had a pretty decent series of matches involving the WWE Championship tournament while SD had better quality matches. Impact, you featured more KO stuff this week, so that is a fail....and a paddlin. In terms of promos/segments, it goes Raw, SD, and Impact. Raw had Vince and Triple H confront each other while SD did ok promo wise. TNA, again with the KOs....that's another paddlin. MVP of the Week? Hmm....I am going to give it to WWE Creative Team or just WWE in general. I realize that is cheating since I should give it to a wrestler or one person, but this is my show and I can do whatever the hell I want with it. By giving it to WWE creative team, big ups go to Punk, Vince, Triple H, and John Cena for this amazing storyline and how well its coming off on television. TNA failed at entertaining you, so you better believe that's a paddlin. Anyway, that's going to do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. Always, tell me what you thought of my review and tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show, see you next time.

Friday, July 22, 2011

What is up wrestling fans, I am the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we.....once again take a look at TNA Impact Wrestling on 7/21/11. After last week's trash fest, how would TNA make it up or would they continue the downhill spiral? Well, let's get this over with and start the review.

We open up the show with Sting. He is still continuing the Joker deal and talks about being champion and Immortal. He also talks about how being insane is awesome.......I have no comment. Anyway, he calls out Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff, but an evil clown shows up on the entrance ramp. It is revealed to be Kurt Angle....again. Well, it didn't take long for TNA to add in pointless scenes. Angle gets in the ring and says he helped him last week because it felt it was the right thing, but he needs to win that championship at the Hardcore PPV because there is no choice. Immortal music comes on, thus Bully Ray and Mr. Anderson arrive. Bully says its Sting and Angle vs Anderson and himself later tonight while Anderson barely says anything. Wow, so you mean to tell me Anderson goes from world champion to being Bully's bitch in a span of a week? I am sorry, but how am I suppose to believe Anderson joining Immortal was going to be a big deal when they are already turning him into a sidekick? Just completely ridiculous. Sting continues to like more insane than the grandpa from Hey Arnold. Then again, unlike Sting, Grandpa from Hey Arnold was actually funny while Sting seems to be forcing it. Oh man, I miss that show. Why can't I be watching THAT right now?

Match #1: Scott Steiner vs RVD in a BFG Series Match
Well, at least TNA has refrained from putting on any more of these matches on house shows as of late. Then again, I imagine that will change because....its TNA. This matchup was nothing special, but it has to end in a stupid manner. The finish comes when Steiner does that usually deal where he does a few push ups after an attack. For some reason, Steiner argues with the ref (Yeah, try making sense out of that) and this allows RVD to sneak up and get a rollup for the quick pinfall victory. I have no idea what Steiner was complaining about. How can the ref make a count when you don't even cover him? If you weren't too busy showing off, maybe you would have won the match. Maybe he was still shocked that he got cock block from a clown last week. Then again, he had no shot of getting So Cal Val. It's amazing how TNA makes Immortal to be a bunch of idiots. These are supposed to be the best bad guys in the company, but they lose to a bunch of clowns, can't keep a world title, and now argue over pointless s***. And your trying to tell me "The Network" can't take down Immortal? Come on, the Muppet Babies are more threatening than Immortal.

Winner via pinfall: RVD

Because wrestling matters, time for a series of KO related segments. I need to warn you that this was a very heavy KO show. I don't even want to begin to wonder what the hell Russo is thinking. So, you challenge the WWE by showcasing the KOs as much as possible? Anyway, Mickie James calls out Velvet Sky. She arrives and....she is wearing a "let the pigeons loose" T-shirt? What the hell? That would be like Trish Stratus wearing a T-shirt with the phrase "Puppies" plastered all over it. I don't know what is more sad, the fact Sky is acknowledging what Tazz is doing under the broadcast table every week or the fact that stupid shirt even exist. So, Mickie talks about how Sky has been getting a lot of crap shoved towards her and how she she doesn't deserve it. She says that tonight's match will be awesome. Yeah, a KO title match.....just what I wanted for Christmas. To still make you wonder why this is being addressed on the show, Winter and Angelina Love come out and Love says Winter has been showing her that Love is mistreated in the company. Are you kidding me? Love, you have won the damn title five times and the company literally bends over backwards to keep you in the spotlight. Heck, I would even go further to say you don't even deserve it because there are far more talented women competitors and you really need to take off the whore makeup because I have never seen a woman use so much make up in my entire life. Anyway, Winter talks about how they will get the title back for the both of them and that ends the segment. Wait, so....are we suppose to forget that Love and Winter almost tried to kill each other around a month ago and were showing signs of separation? This was not a good segment. I really didn't see the point for the promo between Mickie and Sky because we already know they both play face and faces always show respect for one another. It would have made more sense if this match was set for next week, but it's just odd to have a promo segment that really doesn't do anything only for that match to happen an hour later. I guess you can make the argument that this scene did more for Winter and Love to establish they want the title, but based on what would happen later in the evening, it would further show this scene has no purpose. Thank you TNA for wasting time. You know, when WWE needs to eat up time on SD, they show an old match. When TNA needs to eat up time, they air pointless promos that don't add much to the plots. Again, wrestling matters huh?

To add to the mockery that is going around, we see Sarita and Rosita attack Tara and Miss Tessmacher backstage. They quickly go to a commercial and once we are back on the air, we......are still doing the brawl....

Anyway, this brawl was pretty bad. It was just a bunch of cheap slaps and it seemed to last forever. Is it mandatory for the KOs to have a jumbled up brawl every month? Seriously, this happens all the time in this company. Madison Rayne would come into the scene and jump into the attack. To add more to the madness, Sarita appeared to be wearing some sort of mask. We would get an explanation as to why she is wearing a mask, but it comes off as lazy on TNA's part. What happened was there was a brawl between Mex America and Tara/Tessmacher a while back. Oh, great job TNA on saying when this took place, so we are just suppose to assume it happened last week or something. This was done on a cell phone camera in a parking lot and it was revealed that Sarita got a broken jaw from this attack. The camera was so dark that you can't tell who was who, so I wouldn't be surprised if there was stunt doubles in the work. TNA.....if your going to shoot a brawl, get a good cameraman, an actual camera and not a stupid phone, put some freakin lighting around the thing and then shoot the damn thing. This just comes off as lazy because it doesn't look any good with the common eye. Again, TNA should at least put some effort into their scenes, no matter how stupid they are because it at least shows they care about their work. Oh, and there was a round of interviews from all the competitors in tonight's BFG Ladder Match in which the winner would win ten points. Samoa Joe continues to half ass promos while Matt Morgan is on pep pills. Again, at least Morgan looks like he wants to be there and is trying. Back to Joe, I know a lot of people say TNA is holding Joe Back, but I am not really seeing the fire and passion out of Joe's eyes anymore and he is really getting more lazy these days. Why doesn't TNA push you Joe? Because your not going the extra mile anymore and are just half assing stuff like what Carlito was doing towards the end of his WWE career. If there is one thing that pisses me off, its guys with loads of talents and skill for the business but are pissing it away because of backstage politics or disagreements with management. Come on Joe, I have seen you do better than this. Stuff like backstage politics haven't stopped someone like CM Punk from getting noticed, so take some notes Joe. Anyway, Gunner says generic stuff and AJ Styles is saying stuff until Christopher Daniels interrupts and tells him something from behind doors. Judging by Styles' reaction, it didn't sound like good news. Hey, I guess we have something to look forward to this evening. Oh wait. Never mind because THIS scene would never get mentioned or addressed for the rest of the evening. Sorry, but our creative staff is in another castle....

Match #2: Sarita and Rosita vs Tara and Miss Tessmacher for the KO Tag Titles
Again, why do these belts exist? Ok, we already have things that make no sense within the first few minutes. Ok, so Tara and Stripperella arrive in the ring first. The latinas would come out next, but Tara and Tessmacher would attack from behind by coming out of the entrance. What? Did Tara and Tessmacher hire Harry Potter to magically send them to the back? They they run to the ring and through the stands just to get the attack from behind? Eitherway, this part begs an explanation. They get in the ring an the match begins and OH MY GOD, was it a mess. I know women's wrestling is a little questionable at times, but this was beyond terrible. It just seemed like the ref didn't know what to do half the time and the choreography was really bad. It just seemed like everyone involved didn't know what to do and were trying to make the most out of it. Sarita's mask looks like a poor man's version of the Abyss mask, and that is REALLY saying something. Rayne would come in and do an interference, but it doesn't work since Tara was able to kick out. The finish comes when Tara hits the Sky High Powerbomb (how nice of Crimson to allow another TNA employee the usage of his move, but don't tell Angle about that) and wins the match. What was the point of Rayne's attack if it didn't amount to anything? Not to mention the Tara/Rayne feud should be over and thus she should move on. That is a continuing problem with TNA. Just when you think a storyline is dead, here comes TNA to bring it back to life and show that it means something. Just let it go an move on because your just showing that you have no new storyline because you don't have the creativity to think of something new. Believe me, TNA would show another example of not killing a storyline when it has no business of continuing later in the show. Tara and Tessmacher are now champs.....hooray? I find Mike Tenay's line hilarious in saying that Sarita and Rosita have dominated the KO tag division. What division? Just because a belt exist doesn't mean there is a division. Where are the other tag teams? Better yet, why haven't these belts been done away with like the Megatron belt? Oh God.....I just had to remember that stupid thing....

Winner via pinfall and NEW KO Tag Champs: Tara and the stripper

Match #3: AJ Styles vs Matt Morgan vs Samoa Joe vs Gunner in a Ladder Match, winner wins 10 points in the BFG Series
The wrestlers were competing for a clipboard that said you win 10 points. Climbing a ladder to grab a world title or a briefcase is one thing, but a clipboard with a piece of paper, your the fu***** man. Now, this was an ok match, but there was some things about it that didn't make it look great. For one, they only had one ladder for the entire match. In WWE, they usually have multiple ladders, but not in TNA. Second, the match was too short for a typical ladder match. Third, the competitors were going too fast with the OMG moments and it doesn't really stand out and looks cluttered. Probably one of the worst ladder matches I have even seen. Then again, this was just bad timing on TNA's part since WWE just got done with MITB and had two amazing ladder matches while this just comes off as a poor man's ladder match. You have the talent to deliver a good ladder match, but the biggest problem was the time. They should have doubled or tripled the time so this could make the match stand out. Instead, make room for stupid KO deals and storylines nobody gives a crap about. Again....wrestling matters? I know I make fun of that slogan a lot, but when your bill your company for something but don't live up to it, expect to be critically slammed. The finish comes when Morgan hits Carbon Footprint on Gunner and he climbs the ladder and gets the paper to win the match.

Winner: Matt Morgan

On location with Eric Young who continues to look more like Grizzly Adams with the bushy beard. He stops at some gas station and claims he will overtake all the major celebrities. He thinks he sees someone famous, but its actually D'Lo Brown. Young rolls him up and wins the "match". Where is all of this going? What is the point of this? Its just making a worthless belt a sideshow attraction for comic relief. I know some people find Young funny, but I don't and think this whole thing just comes off as stupid.

Match #4: Brian Kendrick vs Alex Shelley for the X Division Championship
Wow, TNA must be doing everything to quickly erase the Dest X PPV since the title match is already happening. Please, Dest X was the last piece of entertainment I have seen out of TNA lately. I really didn't find the match that interesting, but I suppose it was ok for what it was worth. The finish comes when Shelley hits a devastating finisher on the outside of the ring. As he is trying to get Kendrick back in the ring, Austin Aries comes out of nowhere and hits Shelley with the X Division belt. That KOs him. Kendrick pins Shelley, but he seems confused about all of this. The thing that puzzled me was a quick interview after the match. Kendrick was blaming Aries for ruining the "spirit of competition" the X Division brings by running around doing shenanigans. Kendrick,....HE....IS.....A......HEEL!!! That's what they do. What the hell is wrong with these X Division guys? They are the bad guys. Bad guys cheat, cause shenanigans, flip the world upside down, and are freakin evil. It's just in their nature. So, does every X Division guy have to be a John Cena and do the noble thing? Give me a break Kendrick. Plus, you should be thanking him because he is proving your a paper champion. You needed help to beat Abyss and you could barely handle Shelley. I am starting to think TNA gave the title to the wrong guy and forgot how to build a champion with how Kendrick is doing. Once again, Aries continues to show some entertainment. When he was under the ring hiding from everyone, he was almost sneaking away like what Solid Snake does. This guy's skills are being wasted in the X Division because he can do so much more. This company is a joke. You have a midcard champion walking around on imaginary title defenses with "celebrities", pointless tag titles in a women's division that has one tag team, and now you have lightweights who use to be bad guys throwing the book against a current bad guy. Oh, and let's not forget your current world champion which is being held by Heath Ledger ripoff. Russo, you need to stay away from the Hardy stash because it clearly has an effect on everything going around.

Winner via pinfall and still X Division Champ: Brian Kendrick

During the commercials, I saw an ad by TNA in which they are selling an Immortal DVD. What the f***? This angle isn't even over yet and your already selling a DVD on the freakin stable? What's next, Best of Shark Boy DVD? I'm sorry, but you have to be a total idiot to even THINK about buying this DVD. Mexican Amercia comes out and talks about how they are getting screwed over because they got screwed out of two tag team division titles. He says they are angry and you don't want to see Cheech Marian pissed off. Beer Money arrives and James Storm cuts a promo about being a Southern American while saying Mex America are disgracing other Hispanic based wrestlers like the Guerreros. I generally like what Storm says while cutting a promo, but he seemed all over the place and he may have come off as more of a racist than Mex America. Not to mention this entire scene just screamed racial stereotypes with what Anarquia and Storm were saying. This was just hype up for their Hardcore match, but are you really excited for this match? I just want this day to be over with already.

Match #5: Mickie James vs Velvet Sky for the TNA KO Championship
Wow....TWO KO title matches? I am starting to think TNA is just fu***** with you at this point and just begging you to change to channel. This match didn't even get started as Love and Winter attack both ladies. And speaking of storylines that nobody cares about that TNA feels the need to continue, ODB and Jacki return and attack both Sky and Mickie. Ok, this is where things got really weird because Traci Brooks came out and was helping the face KOs while Love and Winter magically disappeared. I guess Harry Potter is doing a double shift tonight? This scene went on forever. This again was another one of those brawls in TNA that was badly choreographed and was completely mismanaged. TNA security staff shows up. Come on, these guys couldn't protect a donut, much less the wrestlers. As you would have guessed, Jacki and ODB pretty much take out all of the security guards by kicking them in the family jewels and by physically punching them. Ok, if your a security guard and your getting your ass kicked by a woman, you seriously need to rethink your life. A dead guy would make a better security guard than these guys. Since TNA security staff sucks, the Orlando Police Department shows up at arrest ODB and Jacki to end this dreadful segment. TNA......

I seriously don't even know what this company is doing anymore. This brawl seem to last forever and this company doesn't know when to kill a storyline even when nobody cared about it from the beginning. What a joke. These KO segments are so bad that I would rather watch a Best of Kelly Kelly montage than this crappy show. TNA.....what are you doing? Where is the direction of this company? I think AC DC said it best. Highway to Hell....

No Contest

Match #6: Kurt Angle and Sting vs Mr. Anderson and Bully Ray
The match was a joke. Angle went in there and cleaned house and he ended up pinning Anderson for the win. Bully got out of dodge and begins to question Anderson being apart of Immortal. The show ends with a staredown with Angle and Sting. I would have gone into detail on this match, but I just don't care anymore and just want to finish up this review. Vince Russo, go f*** yourself.

Winner via pinfall: Kurt Angle and Sting

Overall Impression:
Wow.....this was even worse than last week. I will admit that this week's matches were slightly better, but when you add two KO matches and draw out the KO storylines nobody seems interested in, your just saying that you don't care anymore. TNA, what happened? You were doing well the last couple of months, but these last two episodes have been beyond terrible and are just making me angry. This company's direction is completely off course. You have a 52 year old man as your world champion. You have KO storylines that get more screen time than midcard or X Division storylines. You have idiots in the X Division that can't seem to grasp the concept of faces and heels. You have comic relief characters that are not funny. You have storylines that keep going even though there is no reason to continue them when you basically wrote the scene that ended the feud to begin with. You have storylines for weeks dedicated on a guy joining a stable or not, but it not amounting to anything. You have stereotypes and racism popping up at every corner of this show. Oh, and you have to dips*** of all dips*** in Russo still writing your show. This whole thing is a mess since TNA can't seem to make up their mind on what to do at times and it just looks really bad. It's amazing how well things in the WWE are going because you have compelling stuff like CM Punk "walking out" with the WWE Championship, Vince McMahon "fired" and Triple H taking over the company. In TNA, you have.....a big pile of s***. Again, this isn't going to get the job done TNA and you need to realize this isn't going to bring in new fans or bring up the ratings. The buildup to this PPV has also been garbage. Sting vs Angle is a match I don't care for, while Beer Money vs Mex America just doesn't grab my attention. Since that is all about I can take, I think we need to end this show. That is going to do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed seeing me loose every bit of sanity I still had left. There is still SD to look forward to, so I am sure they will be able to give me something that resembles entertainment. Once again, I apologize for the more swearing than usually, but I couldn't hold back once again. As always, tell me what you thought of my review or tonight's show. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show, see you next time and f*** you TNA.

PS: I am aware of the CM Punk/Comic Con deal and I will briefly talk about that during the SD review. Thank you Punk for showing me that wrestling can be fun. TNA, you really make me wonder why I am a wrestling fan to begin with at times.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

What is up wrestling fans, I am the WrestlingNerd bringing you another written review. Today, we take a look at WWE Raw on 7/18/11. After the epicness that was MITB and with CM Punk walking out as the champ, how would tonight play out? Well, let's find out and start the review.

We open up the show with Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis. They also show the entire roster watching this in the back on like a 27 inch tv screen. Seriously, can't they get something bigger? Anyway, the crowd starts off by chanting Punk's name, but Vince says this company will never mention that name on screen again. He also stated that Punk was the one who turned on the fans and calls hims a turd. He says they will crown a new WWE Champion tonight by putting together a tournament. There will be eight competitors in this tourney and the winner will be the new champion. Vince also says he will deal with John Cena later in the evening and mentions there will be consequences. Overall, an interesting turn of events. To keep up with the established kayfabe of Punk not being with the company, it makes senses for him to not show up immediately and they should wait. It would also be a good way of finding out how other audiences respond to Punk not being around and their continuing demand to see Punk. I think the audience gave a decent amount of cheers towards Punk. Funny thing was Punk was actually at a Chicago Cubs game earlier in the day since he is "unemployed". If Punk was really fired and wanted to do everything to hush this up, why are they still selling his merch and fans are allowed to bring in Punk signs? I pretty much think Punk has signed a new contract, but is taking a bit of a break for the time being. A series of events would definitely be on the way at the end of the show. If you saw the show, then you know that things just keep getting interesting. Again, I will have to wait til the end to discuss that.

Match #1: Alex Riley vs Miz in a WWE Championship Tournament Match
The Miz was selling the knee injury, but I almost wonder how much "selling" he was doing considering that it looks like a real injury. Seriously, did you see that fall the Miz took at MITB? That had to hurt. The match was ok for what it was worth and it ended when Miz shoved Riley towards the ref. With the slight hesitation, Miz hits SCF on Riley and moves on in the tourney. The booking made sense since Riley is still too early to be chasing the world title and he really should be going after a midcard title. Hmm....Riley vs Dolph Ziggler for the US Championship? I would like to see that match.

Winner via pinfall and advancing in the tournament: Miz

Match #2: R-Truth vs Jack Swagger in a WWE Championship Tournament Match
Pretty short match, but it was ok. The match ends when a quick roll up. I think it was a good thing to keep this match short considering this was heel vs heel and the audience has no idea who to side with. Still, Truth seems to be getting a lot of love these days. I guess as long as he isn't in Milwaukee, he will be fine.

Winner via pinfall and advancing in the tournament: R-Truth

Match #3: Alberto Del Rio vs Kofi Kingston in a WWE Championship Tournament Match
Del Rio cut a promo saying "that "guy (referring to Punk) is a chicken because he ran away and says Cena should be fired because he is way more talented than him. Ricardo Rodriguez showed up and said his usually Spanish announcing towards Del Rio. I thought Big Show killed him? Anyway, it appears he is back. Now, I didn't mention this during the Truth match, but King and Michael Cole were talking about Cena the entire time. Well, they did it again during this match as well. I know this is common in pro wrestling, but you would think they would be showing a lot of passion for crowning a "new champion" later tonight and pay attention to this match as opposed to all the Cena talk. I understand Cena is a big deal, but what about the tournament? Anyway, this matchup wasn't too bad. Most of the matches tonight were watchable....for the most part. The finish comes when Kofi sneaks a rollup and wins the match. I thought that was an interesting choice, but considering the winner to this match would face the Miz, it made the most sense. Plus, Del Rio can use the MITB briefcase at any moment. I almost thought of the possibility of Del Rio cashing in the briefcase against the winner of this tournament only for it to be revealed that Punk is back with the belt. I think it would be funny because Del Rio would have basically used the briefcase on a fake champion. Hey, I am just trying to add a new spin on Del Rio so he can bring something to the table as opposed to being slightly better than generic?

Winner via pinfall and advancing in the tournament: Kofi Kingston

Match #4: Rey Mysterio vs Dolph Ziggler in a WWE Championship Tournament Match
This was a pretty entertaining match for what it was worth. The finish comes when Rey hit the 619/Top Rope Splash for the clean win. I didn't have a problem in the booking because the winner was facing Truth and there is now way they are doing another heel vs heel match. Anyone else find it odd that all of the Raw MITB competitors got into this tournament except for Evan Bourne? Pretty much proves that WWE just uses Bourne for the "Ohhs" and "Awws".

Winner via pinfal and advancing in the tournament: Rey Mysterio

Match #5: Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim, Beth Phoenix, Natalya, Eve, Kaitlyn, and AJ vs Bella Twins, Melina, Alicia Fox, Tamina, Rosa Mendes, and Maryse
Pretty much a garbage time match. This match went just about as well as you would have expected. A brawl happens and a finisher later, it's already over. You know, if they are going to waste about 30 seconds on a match, I have to wonder why even put on the damn match? Oh well, I guess there had to be on diva match on the card....sadly. Phoenix hits the Glam Slam on Mendes to win for her time. What I found odd was Phoenix was wearing bright colored red lipstick. She never does that and it really stood out. Kinda sad when the lipstick is more exciting than the actual match.

Winner via pinfall: face divas

Match #6: Kofi Kingston vs Miz in a WWE Championship Tournament Match
They did a Kofi interview after his matchup in the back. Kofi mainly said the generic stuff in how this was going to be his time. Well, it was his time....for about five seconds. Another decent match and it ended when Miz hit SCF on Kofi and moves into the finals. It would have been interesting to see Kofi get into the finals, but what are you going to do? I think its pretty clear who is going to win the Rey/Truth match now. Oh well, let's get to it. There was a montage about Tough Enough winner Andy's life story and such. When is he going to get called up and start being used? In fact, let's place bets in who makes their in ring debut first, Johnny Curtis or Andy? I think its a toss up at the moment.

Winner via pinfall and in the finals of the tournament: Miz

Match #7: Rey Mysterio vs R-Truth in a WWE Championship Tournament
Just as you would expect, Rey ended up winning this match. Come on, it was evident since they already had the heel in Miz and of course they need a face to make it even. This match was actually the longest one of the night. It was also probably the best match of the night as well. None of the matches were bad (well....except for the diva orgy. What a minute? A diva orgy would have been better than that match) but nothing amazing. Keep in mind that outside of Ziggler, these guys were all banged up and I think delivered the best possible match with the lingering injuries. Rey wins the match with the 619/Top Rope Splash combo. I guess Truth is still going into this whirlwind of conspiracy theories since he is still not champ. Speaking of which, why does it seem that Cole's only joke he can make towards Truth is by saying he is a few fries short of a Happy Meal? He did this last night and tonight as well. In fact, I am sure I have heard him say this like 2 or 3 times as well. Talk about raping a joke to death.

Winner via pinfall and in the finals of the tournament: Rey Mysterio

After a commercial, Rey is waiting for the Miz to show up to begin the championship match. Instead, Vince shows up and tells Rey the championship match will have to wait until next week because he has more important things to discuss (So, Cena>WWE Championship? You know, I think we all thought that, but never really wanted to believe that. Well, the boss just said it, so there you go). Rey is very upset with this news and decides to leave the ring in disgust. Once he leaves, Vince beings to talk. He talks about how he can create another Cena and says nobody is larger than the WWE (well, not according to Hulk Hogan). There are several Punk chants going on at this time and he finally calls out Cena. He arrives to a very mixed reaction and he immediately grabs the mic. Cena says he did NOT want to be put in the same situation as Shawn Michaels was all of those years ago during the Montreal Screwjob. He says he didn't want to screw over Punk because he wanted him to have a fair shot. He also thanks Punk for the amazing match last night (you really have to see that match to experience how well done it was). He mentions that he loves the WWE and doesn't want to leave, but if Vince fires him, he will jump to another promotion "Brotha". This line was hilarious because THAT is about as close as TNA is going to get to an actual plug from another wrestling company. Again, NJPW and ROH got a plug a few weeks back, but TNA can't even buy a plug. See, even Cena knows that place will be a series of disappointing events. He also says he won't kiss Vince's ass and he will walk out. Vince says he will not let Cena have the satisfaction of stealing his catchphrase. Just as he is about to say it, Triple H's music comes on and Trips arrives in a suit and tie. Trips informs Vince that there was an emergency meeting with the Board of Directors after the events of Chicago. He mentions how the BOD were talking about dealing with the situation and says he would rather discuss this matter in the back. Vince says otherwise and Trips continues. You can tell that Triple H seemed like he didn't want to do this, but he did. Then again, based on what would happen, it was the best choice for his character and the storyline to do so. He informs Vince that the BOD have filed an injunction against Vince and that the family agrees (well, minus Shane McMahon since he no longer with the company) . He also informs Vince that the BOD voted in Trips to be taking over Vince's job. Trips says he won't be firing Cena and he keeps his job and Trips is having a hard time saying the next thing. Vince at this point is starting to realize everything that is going on and Trips says thank you for everything pops but you have been relieved of your duties. As Trips is walking away as a sad man, Vince is in the ring and he is crying. The show ends with Vince standing in the middle of the ring and while the audience was saying the "Goodbye" song, they are now saying "Thank you, Vince" to close out the show. Split personality audience for the win?

Ok, where do I start? I can definitely call this interesting tv and it just seems that the worked shoots keep coming. I actually enjoyed this segment because it almost seems like we are seeing the evolution of how one storyline can grow and effect other storylines or parts of the show. Who would have thought that Punk's shoot promo a few weeks back would have amounted to this? From a storyline perspective, it actually makes sense because Vince has made some very questionable calls the last few weeks. The first was suspending Punk and then he reinstated him and let him have his title match. Not only that, but he wasn't able to get Punk under contract and now he has left the company with his major prize and we currently have "no" WWE Champion and was about to fire the face of the company because Punk was the man at Chicago. Now, I know what a lot of people are going to say....mainly the TNA fans. They are probably asking me why I can enjoy this segment while TNA tried something like this between Dixie Carter and Hogan and I trashed it. A couple of reasons. One, it was explained much better in the WWE than it was on TNA. Again, that is like the Achilles' heel of TNA; not explaining s***. Two, WWE made this announcement in the ring while TNA was all over the place by showing crappy backstage stages and parts of it in the ring as well. Seriously, those backstage segments are hard to watch in TNA because I hate this whole spy camera/realistic camera because it doesn't come off well on tv. It almost feels like TNA didn't hire professional cameraman and hired a bunch of peeping toms with the way they are hiding behind windows, doors, and ect. Third, the acting was way.....WAY better in the WWE than it was in TNA. Dixie can't pull off a freaking emotion to save her life, while Vince was actually crying in the middle of the ring. He gave an emotion that felt real. It wasn't over the top crying nor was it a slight tear, it was done as well as you can make it look. Remember, this show is live so that was something to pull off. Think about this from a storyline standpoint. This man has been running this empire for over 30 years and he just lost his job and didn't even get a chance to fight back. If it was real life and you were in this situation, you would have felt the same way. Trips also did a good job acting here as well because he felt really bad about delivering the news. So, to those TNA fans that are set to complain, I will put it simply. WWE put more time, energy, and actually showed they gave a s*** while TNA half assed it and it comes off really bad on their end while WWE looks better. That is why worked shoots in WWE are working so well because the characters are so into the parts while it just feels too phoony in TNA land when they do this type of work. Of course after tonight, we are left with even more questions than answers and it really seems the WWE is getting interesting and good at the same time. What will Triple H do now that he is the "chairman" of the company? Will he make more on screen appearances? Will Vince fight back? Will Triple H try and hire back Punk or will he get in the ring to challenge him? Was this also the final goodbye of Vince's character? I would still like to think Vince is still in charge of this company and Triple H doesn't take over until Vince is no longer apart of this world, but what if Vince is really retiring and just giving the company over to the Game right now? I am pretty sure that isn't the case, but that would certainly be something. Still, I think Vince is still in charge of the company but maybe he won't be making on screen appearances with his Mr. McMahon character anymore....or maybe he will. I am loving what the WWE is doing because they are doing a lot of things that just feel real and it makes for very interesting television and I find myself interested in what happens next. Think about it? Punk is "no longer" with the company and he is now goofing off at baseball games while Vince has just lost his job and Triple H is now taking over. Not only that, but WWE has actually been able to make a storyline interesting without the WWE Title since we are lead to belive that Punk left with that thing back at MITB. This almost proves how one little worked shoot promo by Punk can literally turn things upside down. This again was an unpredictable outcome, and as I have said in the past. Pro wrestling is at its best when its unpredictable, has compelling storylines, and amazing wrestling matches. It almost feels like the WWE is going full steam ahead, but the engine has to eventually cool off. Then again, I hope that engine has a few more miles in it because its nice to sit back and enjoy the ride. Definitely a very intriguing storyline that may have just branched off into other storylines.

Overall Impression:
I thought this was an entertaining edition of Raw. The matches this week were better than the ones on Raw last week. Again, what sold this weeks show was the final scene of the Punk storyline possible branching off and unfolding another series of events now that Vince has been "fired". There is still a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks. What will Triple H do now that he is in charge? Will in bring in an actual GM and finally just fire the Laptop GM or will the Laptop GM be revealed? Hey, how about Kevin Nash? Nash isn't a bad promo cutter and he could play an interesting GM if they wanted to go down that route. I think this was a worthy show to follow up MITB and the curiosity level is still there with the show. Damn, the week isn't even over yet because we still need to know what is going on in SD land with all the new things that developed at MITB. Yeah, so WWE has all these things clicking while TNA has.....clowns. I think that pretty much sums it up. That is going to do it for the review and I hope you enjoyed it. As always, tell me what you thought of my review or tonight's show. You can also find me on blogspot/blogger. I will see you guys and girls on the next WrestlingNerd show, see you next time.